Review of An Education (2009) by Stephanie P — 21 Mar 2011

A beautifully acted tale of youthful naivety, passion for learning, and unbridled enthusiasm for living life to the fullest. Our heroine, Jenny, is intelligent, self confident and vulnerable. When she meets her older-man-of-a-boyfriend she gets to experience the finer things in life for the first time and the viewer gets caught up in her excitement.

Of course it's all too good to be true but I shan't ruin the plot for you by going into any details. Set in early 1960s Britain, the clothes, cars, appliances and 'propriety of school girls' is perfectly executed and a pleasure to watch.

I found jenny's parents' characters a little unbelievable and I must say that the older-man-boyfriend's flabby torso was a bit off putting, but the music (classical, Jazz, French chanson and rock 'n' roll), the romantic trip to Paris, the dreams of studying at Oxford and Jenny's insatiable enthusiasm more than made up for those minor faults.

The film's motto, 'action is character' held to the end as did the tug and pull between 'hard and boring' education and a life of excitement. It was a jolly satisfying film and made one want to read English at Oxford, nip to Paris for a walk along the Seine, learn the cello, become a beatnik, and be transported back to the 60s as a school girl.

Bravo!